Fleas, ticks, and sandflies

This week it’s difficult to find anything amusing to say about this topic...the reason being that it’s the season to protect cats against fleas, and dogs against fleas, ticks and sandflies.  

 

I vividly remember  the case of a client who could not get rid of the fleas from her small dog and, having time and again affirmed that that she does not feed stray cats in her garden, eventually told me that her neighbour does.

When planning the right form of protection for your pet, you need to keep in mind two criteria: firstly, fleas, ticks and sandflies need to be considered together and, secondly, you need to give your vet the whole picture.

Fleas are blood-sucking insects that drain blood from your dog or cat. If left uncontrolled, they multiply very quickly into the hundreds and on small-sized pets this can be life treatening.  Fleas also play an important part in the lifecycle of tapeworms, which are intestinal flat worms found in both dogs and cats.  Flea larvae ingest tapeworm eggs; when the infected flea is ingested by the dog or cat during grooming or nipping, the tapeworm then starts to develop inside the intestine.

Of course, the biggest problem with fleas is that they are the most common cause of itching allergies in dogs and cats.  A few important things to know about fleas is that they breed mostly at home, flea-eggs can last unhatched for a very long time just waiting for a new host (your pet) to come along.

 

Whatever treatment or preventive measures you consider this must also include all pets present in the household since fleas are highly successful insects that spread everywhere.  In this respect, a common misconception amongst cat-owners is that a cat that never leaves the house cannot get fleas.  Unfortunately, fleas are very resourceful insects and they will find a way to target even house-bound cats.

Ticks, on the other hand, tend to hitch a ride on dogs, which are their preferred target, when they are out of the house and, in particular, when they are out in the countryside.  Ticks can be present in alarmingly huge numbers and because they are larger than fleas they can be even more life-threatening as they suck a larger volume of blood from the host dog.  Monitoring for ticks, even the occasional one, is vital to the well-being of your dog because they can transmit the ‘tick disease’ called Ehrlichia.

Ehrlichiosis is, sadly, highly-present in Malta, and is caused by a type of bacteria called ‘rickettsia’ which infects the blood cells of the host dog.  Ehrlichia is an insidious disease: not only is it life-treatening, it can also go undetected for a long time and is not easy to get rid of.  The main symptoms to look out for are weightloss, anaemia, and nose bleeds. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine yet available against Ehrlichia, so the protection of dogs from ticks is an imperative for dog-owners.

One disease for which we now have a vaccine is the ‘sandfly disease’.  Sandflies are tiny mosquitoes that prefer areas with vegetation and coastal regions, and prevail during hot still summer evenings.  Sandflies transmit the dreaded Leishmanosis disease.  Even if you have vaccinated your dog with the newly-available Leishmania ‘Sandfly’ Vaccine, you still need to consider protecting your dog against sandflies since, as with most vaccines, this measure is not necessarily an absolute prevention.

 

The number of different products on the market intended to prevent fleas, ticks and sandflies is huge, and some are more effective than others.  The products range from a variety of sprays, spot-ons, tablets and injections, as well as natural repellants and other means of protection.  In deciding what preventive measures to take, you need to consider the number of cats and/or dogs in the house, as well as the type of property you live in.  The number of times your dog gets washed may be important since not all products are waterproof; in the case of cats, you’d need to consider whether they are allowed to roam outside and whether they have contact with other cats.

Before deciding on which products to purchase it would be a good idea to ask the advice of your vet as to which are best to use, and how they should be applied – both if you want to take preventative measures, as well as against full blown infestation.  It is important to give your vet the whole picture…remember the story of the client who did not feed stray cats.

 

Dr Martin Debattista

Veterinary Surgeon

thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com